In personal computers, it is customary to have a variety of integrated circuit chips removably attached to sockets disposed in the printed circuit board. The chips have varying numbers of pins extending from lower surfaces of the chips which are inserted into corresponding sockets to electrically connect the chips to the circuitry of the underlying circuit board.
It is occasionally necessary to remove chips from their sockets. The chips are fragile, and the pins extending from the chips are easily bent and damaged. The circuit board is also typically crowded with other components which are easily damaged. Accordingly, extreme care must be exercised when removing chips from their sockets.
Conventional tools used to remove chips from sockets have proven inadequate. One tool commonly used for removing chips from their sockets, known as a "spatula," is used much like a pry bar to pry alternating sides of a chip slightly further away from the socket until the pins of the chip are disengaged from the socket. The rocking motion created by this tool and technique has a tendency to bend the chip's pins or otherwise damage the chip.
Other types of tools typically used to remove chips from sockets include a number of plier-like devices which are used to grip and lift a chip from its socket. These plier-like devices have a tendency to apply uneven stress to the chip body or to otherwise impart unnecessary transverse or horizontal forces to the pins. Further, these plier-like devices often must rest upon or press against the circuit board while being used to extract a chip. This is undesirable because it creates an unnecessary risk damage to other components or devices on the crowded circuit board or requires that a clear space be provided on the circuit board around the socket. This is also undesirable because the circuit board is typically crowded with components, making board space precious.
What is needed is a chip extraction device which can quickly and easily remove a chip from a socket without damaging the chip, the socket or other components on the circuit board.